CC 11-19-99 CUPERTINO CITY COUNCIL
Regular Adjourned Meeting
Friday, November 19, 1999
ROLL CALL
At 9:00 a.m., MaYOr Statton called the meeting to order at the Blackberry Farm Retreat
Center, 21979 San Femando Avenue, Cupertino.
City Council members present: Mayor John Statton, Vice-Mayor Sandra Sames, and
Council members Don BurneR, Michael Chang, and Richard Lowenthal. Council
members absent: None.
Staffpresent: City Manager Don Brown, Administrative Services Director Carol Atwood,
Community Development Director Bob Cowan, Parks and Recreation Director Steve
Dowling, Public Works Director Bert Viskovich, and City Clerk Kimberly Smith.
Also present were representatives of the Kimpton Group and Pegasus Development
Company.
ORAL COMMUNICATIONS - None
NEW BUSINESS
Review City Center hotel, apartment and open space concepts.
Community Development Director Bob Cowan reviewed the background on the project,
and said the general plan designates this site for a hotel and park at the comer of DeAnza
and Stevens Creek Boulevards. A general plan amendment may be necessary to meet the
height re~luircments of the proposed projects.
Mr. John Moss, representing Pegasus Development, said this is a mixed-use project that
includes a hotel with meeting space and restaurant, a city park, some retail uses bordering
the park, and housing.
Mr. Paul Lettieri discussed the layout of thc buildings, how they would relate to the park
space, and thc proposed landscaping and public art featurcs.
The Kimpton Group representatives reviewed their company's history and said they now
have 28 boutique hotels in operation, which are fairly small (averaging 200 rooms) with a
high level of customer service. They discussed thcir corporate philosophy and showed
photographs of several of the/r hotels.
ovemher 10, lO00 (]upertlno 121b, ounell Page
The Kimpton Group architects explained the hotel layout including rooms, parking,
restaurant and banquet facility, meeting rooms, and pedestrian and vehicle access. The
architecture is Mediterranean style with stucco materials, and the tower building on the
end will be 127 feet high. The De^nza Boulevard site was chosen because it is a better
suited for their needs than the larger area on Stevens Creek Boulevard.
The Pegasus Group architects reviewed the retail store area and apartment project. The
structure will be "4-sided" for approachability by pedestrians, and will step up in height
from Stevens Creek Boulevard (3 stories) towards the twin towers (8 stories). The
apmhnents will be a podium design with 205 residential units ranging in size from 800-
1300 sq~_~_are feet. Enclosed decking is preferred on Stevens Creek Boulevard because of
the noise, but decks will be open on the rest of the project.
All the council members viewed the proposal favorably, and offered their suggestions for
changes, as follows:
Bumett felt that all apartments should have open decks, to allow conminer gardening,
etc., and felt that the project was very large. Also, the interior garden area should be
open to pedestrians.
Lowenthal did not want gated access either, and felt a community room was needed. The
project must integrate apartment users with retail and restaurant uses. He hoped it would
have a more "open" feel, with open windows, balconies, etc.
Chang wanted a closer look at parking, and suggested more drawings to scale from
different angles to show the different views and intensity of this project. He also asked if
the traffic impacts were acceptable.
James felt the apartment complex was large and overwhelming, and care should be taken
to make it an environmentally friendly place. She suggested a bookstore be one of the
retail uses, and that emphasis be placed on landscaping. Statton agreed with her
comments.
The Kimpton Group representatives noted that the hotel design is extremely tight, as far
as lot size is concerned, and they cannot make any changes in location~ height, etc.,
because of minimum hotel standards and the restrictions imposed by the odd-shaped lot.
Community Development Director Bob Cowan said the next step would be for council to
initiate the General Plan amendment process. Council members agreed that a joint
meeting of the council and planning commission should be scheduled to review the
conceptual plans.
RECESS
The meeting was recessed for lunch, and reconvened at 1:00 p.m.
]~ovember 19, 1999 Cupertino City Council Page
ROLL CALL
City Council members present: Mayor John Statton, Vice-Mayor Saudra James, and
Council members Don Bumett, Michael Chang, and Richard Lowenthal. Council
members absent: None.
Staff present: Community Development Director Bob Cowan, Parks and Recreation
Director Steve Dowling, Public Works Director Bert Viskovich, Public Information
Officer Donna Krey, City Clerk K/mberly Smith, and Human Resources Officer Bill
Woska.
NEW BUSINESS (continued)
Council/Management staff workshop on transition planning.
Facilitator Greg Wright led a group exercise on organizational needs.
CLOSED SESSION
At 3:00 p.m. Council recessed to a closed session to discuss Labor negotiations pursuant
to Government Code Section 54957.6. No action was taken.
ADJOURNMENT
At 4:00 p.m. the meeting was adjourned.
City Clerk